Faceplate and receptacle with prong guiding means



July 9, 194D- w. c. HOLDEN 2,207,485

FACEPLATE AND RECEPTACLE WITH P-RQNG GUIDING MEANS Filed Sept.' 14., 1959 I: lNvENToR WILLIAM C. HOLDEN BY HIS ATTORNEYS {f7/MM www Patented July 9, 1940 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE FACEPLATE AND RECEPTACLE WITH PRONG GUIDING MEANS Claims.

This invention relates to electric connecting devices having guiding means to facilitate the insertion of the prongs of an attachment plug cap in the prong slots of the connector. More b particularly it relates to a combination of a faceplate and attachment plug receptacle having guiding means to assist the prongs of an attachment plug cap to enter the contact apertures or slots of the receptacle.

It is an object of my invention to simplify and to provide a more effective means to guide the prongs of an attachment plug into the apertures of a receptacle. Other objects and advantages of my invention will appear as it is described in connection with the accompanying drawing.

'Ihe difficulty one experiences in trying to insert the prongs of an attachment plug cap into the prong apertures or slots of a receptacle are well-known to all. Many attempts have been made to simplify the operation of inserting the prongs in their apertures by providing various forms of prong guiding surfaces but they have not been entirely successful for a variety of reasons. The common expedient has been to provide a barrier or elevated portion on the guiding surface between the prong apertures of the receptacle with the idea that when once the prongs Were properly placed straddling this barrier, they could more easily be manipulated and inserted in the apertures. The difliculty with this attempt at solution of the problem arises from the fact that quite often the prongs are both placed on one side of the barrier and this causes a great deal of fumbling in an attempt to insert the prongs in their apertures. 'Ihe difculty which arises in the attempt to insert the prongs in their apertures is in most cases due to the fact that the receptacle is placed in a position Where it cannot readily be seen and can only be reached with difficulty. Frequently the receptacle is behind furniture which it is inconvenient or diflicult to move.

My invention solves the difliculty in a simple and effective manner in that it provides a guiding surface for the attachment plug cap prongs to their apertures in the receptacle and presents no barrier or impediment in the course of travel of the prongs into their apertures.

The invention herein is a modification, as applied to a receptacle faceplate, of the invention in my prior application Serial No. 243,789, filed December 3, 1938.

In the drawing- Fig. 1 is a bottom view of a faceplate to which i5 my prong guiding surface has been applied;

Fig. 2 is a plan view of a receptacle for use with the plate of Fig. 1;

Fig. 3 is a plan view of the plate and receptacle of Figs. 1 and 2 when assembled;

Fig. 4 is a longitudinal section View taken along 6 line 4-4 of Fig. 3.

Referring to the drawing, the attachment plug receptacle may be of the duplex type, with duplicate spaced outlets IU and I2 thereof in the usual form having slots or apertures I4 for the 10 reception of prongs of an attachment plug cap.

It will be understood by those skilled in the art that the slots I4 will contain, or have beneath them, contact lingers (not visible) to be engaged by the prongs of the attachment plug cap when l5 the prongs are inserted in the slots. Preferably the top surfaces of the two outlets I0 and I2 will be in a single plane with a depression 34 between them. The receptacle may have a main body part I6 and a bottom cover I8 secured thereto by 20 a rivet 20 passing centrally through the cover and body. The rivet may have a hollow end internally threaded to receive a screw 22 which passes through a central opening 24 in the rectangular faceplate 26 whereby the faceplate and 25 receptacle may be secured together.

The faceplate 26 may be made of any suitable material but molded insulating material is preferred. The faceplate is provided with a pair of circular openings 28 and 30 whose diameters are 30 equal and are also aproximately equal to the distance between the outer sides of a pair of receptacle slots I4 of the receptacles. 'Ihe plate 26 is so positioned that the openings 28 and 3l)v lie over the slots I4 so that the prongs of an 35 attachment plug cap may be inserted in the slots through the circular openings 28 and 30. In order to properly position the plate and the openings 28 and 30 over the receptacle outlets I0 and I2, there may be provided on the bottom 40 surface of the face plate 26 a rectangular projection 32 which is adapted to fit snugly in the space 34 between the outlets I and I2 and thus prevent longitudinal movement of the faceplate relative to the receptacle. Lateral movement of 45 the faceplate relative to the receptacle may be prevented by providing a pair of parallel ribs 36 and 38 extending along the bottom surface of the faceplate toward the end from the openings 28 and 30. These ribs 36 and 38 may be spaced 50 so as to lie along opposite side edges of the bend adjacent the end portion of the conventional metallic supporting bridge 40 of the receptacle. The screw 22 also comprises an important means for maintaining the position of the plate With 2 relation to the receptacle since when the screw is inserted it holds the faceplate and receptacle together, while either the extension 32 or the ribs 36 and 38 cooperating respectively with the receptacle or the supporting bridge will prevent rotation of the plate upon the receptacle.

The means to guide the prongs of the attachment plug cap into the slots I4 consists primarily in a circular concave surface i2 around each of the openings 28 and 38 and extending downwardly from the surface of the faceplate to those openings. Secondary guidance of the prongs is accomplished by the openings 28 and 3U, which due to the natural thickness of the plate 26 form wells at the bottom of the guiding surfaces d2 so that once the prongs have slid down the guiding surfaces into the `openings 28 and 30, the vertical walls of these openings act as stop means and tend to keep the prongs within the openings. Thereafter a simple twisting motion, which one ordinarily makes in attempting to insert the prongs of a plug cap into a receptacle, serves to bring the prongs in register with the prong apertures. It is desirable for the vertical walls of the wells to be of greater height thanthe usual bevel or rounding of the corners of the prongs of an attachment plug cap, so that the prongs may not cam themselves over the edges of the well and up again onto the guiding surface 42. The plate thickness at the wells N will be determined with this desire in mind.

' the prongs into the openings engage contacts in Preferably the guiding surface |12 will be made approximately equal in width (i. e., the distance from periphery of the opening 28 or 30 to the outer periphery surface 52) to the distance across the prongs but this dimension may be varied as of particular installations require. to have the diameter of the guiding surface 42 greater than twice the distance across the plug prongs. By making the guiding surface of large extent, almost any attempt to insert the plug prongs in their slots will result in the prongs falling upon some portion of the surface 52, after which the concave characteristic of the surface will serve to guide 28 or 36], whereupon the plug can be twisted and will be guided by the periphery of the opening (28 or 30) until the prongs are in register with, or fall into, the slots I4. If desired, the faceplate and the receptacle body may be molded as one piece, or said faceplate and the top portion of the said receptacle may be molded in one piece.

From the foregoing, it will be apparent that I have provided a simple and effective means for assisting the insertion of attachment plug cap prongs into the slots of a receptacle and that the means provided insures that any normal attempt to insert the prongs in their apertures will not be hampered by any protuberance or elevation on the guiding surface but, on the other hand, the guiding surface will always assist the insertion of the prongs in their apertures.

Modifications within the scope of this invention will occur to those skilled in the art. Therefore I do not limit the invention to the exact form as shown and described,

I claim:

1. A faceplate for an attachment plug receptacle body, said plate being pierced for the passage therethrough of the prongs of an attachment plug cap in order that said prongs may a receptacle body behind said faceplate,lsaidv plate having a concave surface extending up from the pierced portion of said requirements It is desirable, however,

plate to guide the plug prongs, said concave surface being of such extent that the least distance across it is in excess of twice the distance across the plug prongs, said concave surface being formed to present no impediment to the passage of a prong across the said concave surface into said pierced portion.

2. A faceplate and receptacle combination constructed and arranged to assist the insertion of the prongs of an attachment plug cap into the receptacle, comprising a plate portionhaving a concave surface of such extent that the least distance across it is in excess of twice the olistance across the plug prongs, in combination with 'a receptacle portion cooperating with said plate portion in the central part of said concave surface, the adjoining parts of said plate and receptacle portions being constructed and arranged to form depressed means to entrap and to guide the prongs, as into prong apertures in said receptacle portion, whereby said. concave surface forms the'original guiding meansfor the prongs and said entrapping means forms the nal guiding means for the prongs, said entrapping means being formed to present no impediment to the passage of a prong across it, and said concave surface being formed to present no impediment to the passage of a prong over it into said entrapping means.

3. A faceplate and receptacle combination construoted and varranged to assist the insertion of the prongs of an attachment plug cap into the receptacle, comprising a plate portion having a concave surface of such extent that the least distance across it is in excess of twice the distance across the plug prongs, in combination with a receptacle portion cooperating with said plate portion in the central part of said concave surface, the adjoining parts of said plate and receptacle portions being constructed and arranged to form a round well having a diameter approximately equal to the distance across the prongs and having walls substantially normal to said concave surface and serving to entrap and to guide vthe prongs, `as the prongs are turned, into* prong apertures in said receptacle portion, whereby said concave surface forms the original guiding means for the prongs and said well forms the Final guiding means for the prongs, said well being formed to present no impediment to the passage of lfa prong across it, and said concave surface being formed to present no impediment to the passage of a prong over it into said well.

4. A faceplate for an attachment plug receptacle body, said plate having an opening for passage therethrough of the prongs of an attachment plug cap in order that said prongs may engage contacts in a receptacle body behind said faceplate, the distance across said opening being approximately equal to the distance across the prongs of an attachment plug cap and the walls of said opening forming a secondary guiding means for said prongs, said plate having a ooncave surface extending up from said opening to afford original guiding means for said prongs, said concave surface being of such extent that the least distance across it is in excess of twice the distance across the plug prongs, said concave surface being' formed to present no impediment to the passage of said prongs across it into said opening. y

5. In an attachment plug receptacle device having means to guide the prongs of a plug cap into engagement with receptacle contacts, afaceplate having a concave surface acrosswhich the least distance is in excess of twice the distance across the plug prongs, said concave surface affording original guiding means for said plug prongs, said concave surface running down to a central recess, the distance across said recess being approximately equal to the distance across the prongs of an attachment plug cap whereby said recess functions to entrap said plug prongs and affords a secondary means to guide said plug prongs as said cap is manipulated in attempt to engage its prongs with the receptacle contacts.

WILLIAM C. HOLDEN. 

